Stop Staring!
by Hobbitpal
Summary: He shouldn't be looking, but how can he stop himself with some like her around.
1. Chapter 1

"Stop staring Charlie, she's off limits." Charlie Weasley looked away from her to see his elder brother stood in the entrance to the tent.

The object of their conversation was a few feet away, playing some sort of muggle game with Harry and the rest of the Weasley siblings; except Percy, who hadn't come on the family holiday.

"I wasn't staring, I was observing." Bill laughed slightly. Charlie had been staring at her, not that he didn't blame his younger brother. She was a very attractive young woman with her honey-brown hair that seemed to shimmer in the dying sunlight. Her smile radiated off her face and her eyes always seemed to sparkle. If he wasn't already in a relationship then he would be tempted to try and make a move on her, but he was dating someone and also, she was off limits. Ron had unofficially claimed her as his girl though they were not actually going out. Bill knew his youngest brother could be very protective of things he cared about, and Hermione was someone that he defiantly cared about. The way he sat with her by the fire, listened so intently to what she was saying even when she wasn't talking to him and yet he would not get up the nerve to ask her out. It was ridiculous.

"You were staring." Charlie glared at his brother slightly as they carried on watching her as the twins wrestled her to the ground during some muggle game they were playing.

"She is stunning though, isn't she?" Bill put his head in his hands. Charlie didn't get it. The girl was off-limits, unless he wanted Ron to beat him to death out of anger. She was beautiful, yes there was no denying that, but their father had warned them about Ron's jealousy. They knew first hand how bad Ron could get and yet Charlie was still staring into waters that were far too deep for him.

"Don't go there Charlie, please don't go there." Charlie chuckled, looking at his brother with a large grin on his face.

"Don't worry, I won't. You know me." Bill sighed, grimacing slightly as his brother walked away. 

"Yeah I know you, you'll be all over her by tomorrow evening I bet." He muttered to him self as he too wandered over to the group of teenagers that made up his family.

Hermione found her laughing hard as Fred and George collapsed beside her both laughing as well from tickling her. Ron, Harry and Ginny were also laughing, falling to the ground as well.

"Muggle games are so much fun." Ron said, stretching out on the soft grass, staring up at the sky.

"What muggle games?" The 6 of them looked up to see the 2 elder members of the Weasley family walking towards them through the field. 

Fred and George sat up, resting on their elbows, Hermione lying between them, grinning at him as he walked closer.

She could feel hr cheeks blushing as their eyes met for a second. Charlie Weasley was a very strange man, though many of the Weasley were really. He was strong, intelligent, kind and handsome. But he didn't know he was. He was shy around people; she'd noticed it at the celebration party after the war. He'd hardly spoken to anyone, just sitting a corner, watching people. But despite that, he seemed so much better than Ron. It was annoying that Ron had named her as his. She didn't even fancy Ron, in any shape or form. She loved him as a brother, nothing more, nothing less, but the thick-sculled dunderhead didn't seen to get that. With Charlie, well, they hardly knew each other, there was no way he felt the same way about her.

"It's called Tig. One person is 'it' and they have to chase after other people until they touch someone and shout 'Tig'. Then that person becomes 'it'."

Hermione hardly heard what Ron was saying, her eyes focused so closely on Charlie as he steadily held her gaze.

"Sounds fun, mind if we join in?" Bill nudged his brother on the arm causing he to look around from Hermione.

"Yeah, sure I'll join in, if you'll let us." 

Ron looked over at the twins and Hermione. They nodded, as did Harry and Ginny, grins spreading across their faces.

"Um, you're it Fred!" Ron called as they charged off in all directions, Fred running after them as fast as he could.

Charlie couldn't contain his laughter as Hermione and Ginny hid behind a tree as Fred tried to find them. She looked beautiful as she laughed, peering around the edge of the trunk, her brown hair blending into the bark, falling across her shoulders as it did so. As if sensing that he was looking at, she turned her head towards him and their eyes made contact for a second time before she was running away from Fred who tapped him on the shoulder shouting "Charlie's it!" 

He ran after her, determined to catch her, eve if it was just for a second. She was teasing him, her laughter floating on the air as she ran from him, changing course suddenly, always slipping through his grip at the last second. 

Finally he caught her arm, but as she tried to turn, he tripped on a tree root, falling to the ground and pulling her down with him, her landing on top of him, their faces inches apart.

The twins started wolf whistling and cat calling, which caused Hermione to go bright red.

"You alright?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, but he could sense her concern.

"I'm fine, had worse falls anyway, trust me." Her lips showed a slight smile as she got off him, pulling him to feet, gently brushing grass off his shirt, as though it was her fault he'd fallen.

"Charlie and Hermione sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" The twins had started to chant, which annoyed Ron big time. Everyone knew he liked Hermione and that he intended to ask her out…at some point…in the future.

"Shut up!" Bill yelled, turning to his brother who was still gazing at Hermione. "Snap out of it!" He hissed, walking past him to Hermione as she stood with Harry and Ron. "You okay to carry on?" She nodded, smiling up at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He nodded, patting her arm, glancing at the rest of them, trying to decide who should be it.

"Ginny, you're it!" 


	2. Chapter 2

The game was finally brought to an end when it became too dark to see where they were going and Mr. Weasley had called them back to the tent for tea. He wasn't staying for the whole trip, the 8 of them were old enough to look after themselves, and he was merely making sure that they had all the supplies they needed. 

All through dinner Charlie couldn't take his eyes off her as she at between Ron and Harry, laughing at on of the twin's latest pranks. Ginny was lying across Harry's lap, laughing as well, though it was a sleepy laugh. 

"You're doing it again Charlie." The second Weasley brother just glared at his brother tempted to throw his knife at him. "What was that thing you did earlier? Pulling her down on top of you." Charlie felt his knuckles going white as he gripped his cutlery.

"I tripped over a tree root." Bill raised an eyebrow, giving him a 'whatever' look. Charlie just sighed; he was in big trouble. He was in love with his youngest brother's best friend and romantic interest and there was nothing he could do about it.

Hours later he lay under the stars, creating shapes out of them. After years of living in Romania he found it hard to sleep in a tent. Normally he slept under the stars because it was so hot and also Bill a) wouldn't shut up talking about Hermione and how in trouble he was and b) Bill snored worse than a dragon roared.

A rustle of canvas startled him and he sat up, wand clasped in his hand.

"It's only me." He eased his grip on his wand when he recognized the voice. A slight smile crept across his face as she sat beside him, her eyes turning skyward. Never had he thought that she could look more beautiful than she did during the day, but seeing her in the starlight she looked more beautiful than he could describe, her hair reflecting the silver light of the moon and stars. She looked like an angel dropped from heaven.

Silence hung between them, like a mist across a damp field in winter. He was so captivated by her he couldn't speak nor did he want to speak, but he needed to break the silence that was slowly building up between them.

"I'm sorry about earlier." She blinked, obviously startled by the sound of his soft voice in the gloom. 

"Oh, that's alright. It was my fault anyway." He smile at her, a gentle smile as he moved closer to her, so he could see her better, even though he had excellent night vision. There was just something about being close to her that he enjoyed.

"Has Ron ever told you how beautiful you are?" Slowly, she shook her head, which caused him to smile even more. "Well, you are." As if to put more emphasis on his words, he gently pushed back a stray strand of hair, tucking it behind her ear. Even in the moonlight he could see her blush. It reminded him of those muggle romance novels he'd read for Muggle Studies. The hero would say something about her beauty and the heroine would blush madly, turning away from her handsome hero before they confessed their love for each other and lived happily ever after. If only real life could be like that.

Gently, his hand found its way onto her shoulder, gliding up the side of her neck to cup her face, moving it so she was facing him, looking to his eyes. She smiled at him, a soft smile that seemed to be riddled with embarrassment, but a smile none the less. He grinned back, his other hand moving up into her hair, tangling itself in her jungle of brown curls.

As if knowing what he was thinking, she rests on of her hands on his shoulder, the other on his chest, feeling him drawing her closer to him so their foreheads were just touching, their nose tips just brushing against each other, their lips tantalisingly close. 

"You are so beautiful," he murmured, gazing into her eyes, a loving smile spreading across his lips.

"So I've been told." Her voice was soft, as if they were speaking in a church. 

Cautiously, he ran his fingertips over her cheek, feeling how smooth and soft it was under his hard, callously skin. Her breath caught in her chest as he finally bent his head to her, kissing her lips so lips so softly and gently it was as though he feared she would break. She couldn't believe this was happening, that Charlie Weasley was kissing her, that he had told her she was beautiful. The only thing Ron had ever said to her that was vaguely similar to what Charlie had said was that she was a girl. Although she knew that would be the only time he'd ever say anything like that, she felt guilty. She knew Ron liked her, and yet here she was, kissing his elder brother.

"Hermione," his voice was gentle, as gentle as the touch of his fingers on her skin.

"I can't, Ron." She hastily disentangled herself from his long strong arms, the only arms that she'd ever been wrapped up in and felt as though she was supposed to be there. Ron had never hugged her in a loving way, a friendly way maybe, but never as though he lover her. She knew he was shy about it, she knew that, but it seemed so pointless waiting for something that would never happen and here was Charlie ready to love her.

In the darkness Charlie found her hand, his fingers looping around hers, drawing her close again.

"We both know you don't love him, no matter how much he loves you. Ron will learn to understand, I promise you, he's just a little slow on the uptake." She looked back at him, at his serious face. She sighed, leaning her head against his chest.

"How did I get so lucky to have you notice me?" He laughed, kissing the top of her head.

"Because you are beautiful, from the very first time I saw you at the Quidditch World Cup. No matter what people said, I always thought you were beautiful." She laughed slightly, leaning up to kiss him, feeling him draw her up tightly up into his arms, kissing her back with more fire as they sat under the stars. 


	3. Chapter 3

Bill didn't question his brother about what had happened that night. He'd sort of guessed by the smile Charlie had plastered all over his face when he'd come back into the tent.

Ginny pried every detail out of her best friend, wanting details that made Hermione blush.

For the rest of the holiday the pair had stolen glances at each other, slipping away at night so they could have a few moments alone.

Ron didn't find out until a month later when he turned up at Hermione's flat to see if she wanted to go out for a drink and found the pair curled up in front of a roaring fire, kissing rather madly.

He'd not yelled or hexed them, he'd just turned and ran, Charlie trying to catch up with him to explain what he had seen.

She moved to Romania 6 months later and the pair were married a year after that. Ron had turned up to the wedding, standing at the back of the gathering. When he greeted the newly wed couple he just hugged them and told then that he was sorry.

Hermione looked over to her husband who had just smiled and gave her a 'I told you so' look. She'd smiled back, leaning up to kiss his cheek before returning to greeting the guests.

Bill came up to his brother during the reception.

"Stop staring," he muttered. Charlie just laughed, still watching her. He could stare all he wanted, she'd married him and there was nothing Bill could do about it.

"Shut up Bill!" Bill grinned after his brother, maybe staring wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
